Tenju Shuzo

Tenju Shuzo or Tenju Brewery is a very old Japanese sake brewery founded in 1830. It is a tightly knit, family-owned brewery, and has been inherited over six generations in the history of sake production. The brewery is located in Yashima village near the beautiful Mt. Chokai, in Akita Prefecture. The village has a population of only 5,000 but is famous for the number one in sake production in Akita.

Making sake involves very sensitive processes contrary to its image of vigorous guys stirring in big barrels. Managing the proper temperature and humidity is the key to making good sake. In the winter season, heavy snowfalls are brought to the village, and the temperature became low. This severe condition is actually ideal for sake brewing. Tenju Brewery makes use of the terrain surrounded by mountains and the weather in winter for their best sake such as using Mt. Chokai's naturally-filtered, soft water. This results in that sake tastes distinguishably clean on the palate.

Another philosophy of Tenju that good sake comes from good rice. The brewery is also making huge efforts to promote local, high quality of rice for their sake production.

All the workers in Tenju know very well about rice being engaged in rice production in summer and make the knowledge use of their sake production in winter.